The carrier wants to inspect. That is normal, and it is mostly about valuation.

Why private client carriers inspect at all

Standard homeowners insurance rarely involves a visit. Private client insurance usually does, and the reason is arithmetic, not suspicion.

A generic cost estimator prices a house from a handful of inputs: square footage, a construction class, a quality grade, a few features. On a tract house that works fine. On a house with custom millwork, imported stone, an architect's design, a slate or tile roof, a plaster interior or a complicated roofline, the estimator can't see what's actually there, and it comes in low every time. The carrier is about to promise to rebuild that house. It would like to know what it just promised.

The other reasons matter too. The visit confirms the property is what the application described, records the protective devices that affect eligibility and price, and catches conditions that could turn into a loss nobody needed. On a wildfire exposed or rural property it also settles access, water supply and clearance, which no answer on a form can settle by itself.

They usually happen when a policy is first written, after a major renovation, on a cycle for houses already insured, after a large claim, or when something about the property changes. Some are exterior only. Some use aerial or satellite imagery instead of a visit, or alongside one. On an expensive house an interior walkthrough is common, because the interior is where the money went.

What the inspector actually looks at

Scope varies by carrier and by the kind of inspection ordered. On a full visit, this is roughly what gets written down.

Exterior and grounds

• Overall condition, elevations photographed from all sides, and a measurement or confirmation of the footprint.
• Exterior wall construction and cladding: stone, brick, stucco, wood, fiber cement, and whether it's veneer or structural.
• Foundation type, visible condition, and grading and drainage away from the building.
• Decks, porches, balconies, railings, steps and any structural attachment concerns.
• Driveway, access, turnaround, gates and whether the address is visible from the road.
• Trees over the structure, overhanging limbs and anything stored against the building.
• Outbuildings, guest houses, barns, shops and their construction, because these are the ones people forget to insure properly.
• Pools, spas, ponds, sport courts, docks, and the barriers, fencing, gates and covers around them. Pool fencing is one of the most common recommendation items on the whole list.

Roof

The roof gets more attention than anything else on the house, on nearly every carrier's form. The inspector records the covering type and the age, documented or estimated. Then the condition: granule loss, lifted or missing material, cracked tiles or slates. Then the complexity of the roofline, the flashing and valleys, the gutters and downspouts, and the state of the chimney, skylights and any penetrations.

Roof age is the single item most likely to produce a recommendation or a change in terms. If you've got the installation invoice or the permit, have it out. A date on paper is worth more than a guess.

Systems: electrical

• Service size, panel manufacturer and age, and whether the panel is of a type widely regarded as problematic.
• Wiring type where visible, including knob and tube or aluminum branch wiring in an older house.
• Obvious deficiencies: double tapped breakers, missing covers, exposed conductors, extensive extension cord use.
• Evidence of updating, and the date of it, which is why it pays to know your own dates.

Systems: plumbing, heating and water

• Supply piping type where visible, including galvanized steel or polybutylene in an older house.
• Water heater age, location, seismic strapping where relevant, and whether it sits above finished space.
• Visible leaks, staining or prior water damage, and evidence of repair.
• Heating system type, age and condition, and the condition of any fireplace, wood stove or pellet appliance including clearances and the chimney.
• Supply lines to appliances, where a large share of interior water losses start.

Water causes more claims on expensive houses than anything else, and it's where carriers are most willing to ask for something in return for writing the house.

Interior and finishes

Inside, the inspector is documenting more than examining. The point is to record what would have to be rebuilt.

• Room count, ceiling heights and floor plan, photographed.
• Flooring: hardwood species and pattern, stone, tile, radiant heat underneath.
• Millwork, built-in cabinetry, paneling, coffered or beamed ceilings, interior stone and plaster work.
• Kitchen and bathroom grade, including counters, appliances and fixtures.
• Staircases, ironwork, custom glazing and specialty lighting.
• Purpose-built rooms: wine rooms, home theaters, gyms, studios, safe rooms.
• Visible collections, art placement and display arrangements, which often prompt a conversation about scheduling valuables.

The reconstruction features they are documenting

These are the things that make a rebuild expensive. The estimator doesn't know about any of them, which is why somebody has to come look.

• Roof complexity and material. Slate, clay tile, cedar shake, standing seam metal and multi-plane rooflines all cost far more to replicate than a simple composition roof on a simple shape.
• Exterior materials. Full stone or brick rather than veneer, custom stucco, large format glazing and curtain wall.
• Ceiling heights and volume. A two story entry or a vaulted great room costs far more to rebuild than its floor area suggests. That's the clearest example of why square footage misleads on a custom house.
• Custom millwork and interior stone. Site-built cabinetry, paneled libraries, carved stair parts, stone floors and surrounds.
• Specialty systems. Radiant floors, geothermal, elevators, whole-house automation, commercial-grade kitchens.
• Architectural design and historic detail. On an older or historic house, matching original detail can require trades that are hard to find and expensive to hire.
• Site conditions. Steep access, an awkward lot, a long driveway or a remote location all raise what it costs to build on that particular piece of ground.
• Code upgrade exposure. An older house rebuilt to current code costs more than putting back exactly what was there. That's what the ordinance or law provision pays for, the code driven work rather than the replacement, and it's worth reading.

What comes out of all this is a reconstruction estimate, and the whole policy rests on that number. Read it when it arrives. If it is a long way off the limit you have been carrying, that's either a correction worth having or a mistake worth arguing with, and either one deserves a phone call. A declarations page review is how you test it.

Alarms, water shutoff devices and protective systems

Protective devices get recorded carefully, because on a lot of programs they affect both whether a company will write the house and what it charges.

• Central station monitored burglar and fire alarm. Whether it's monitored, and the certificate that proves it, matter more than a keypad on the wall. An unmonitored system gets written up differently.
• Smoke and heat detection, including whether it's interconnected and whether it's monitored.
• Automatic water shutoff devices. This one comes up more than anything else these days. A device that spots abnormal flow and closes the main valve is treated very differently from a sensor that sends your phone an alert. If you're picking one, pick the one that closes the valve.
• Interior fire sprinklers, which are rare in a house and get noted when they're there.
• Temperature monitoring, particularly relevant on a secondary or seasonal home that sits unoccupied through freezing weather.
• Generator, sump pump and backflow protection where the property has a basement or is served by a well.
• Gates, cameras and access control on properties where those are part of the security arrangement.

If a device is installed and the paperwork has gone missing, get the certificate from the monitoring company before the visit. Inspectors write down what they can verify.

Wildfire mitigation, where it applies

On a wildfire exposed property the same visit doubles as a mitigation survey, and that's where an hour of preparation shows up most. The inspector looks at the roof and its edges, the eaves, the attic and crawlspace vents, the siding and whatever is stacked against the building. Then the deck and what is under it, the clearance in each zone out from the house, the access route and turnaround, and the water supply, including hydrant distance or the capacity of an on-site tank or cistern.

Hand over the mitigation paperwork instead of describing it. Dated photographs, contractor invoices, defensible space measurements in feet, and any outside recognition such as an IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home designation or Firewise USA community standing. Whether a given carrier gives you credit for any of it varies, and that gets decided in underwriting. What actually moves an underwriter is covered on the wildfire page.

What recommendations typically come back

Most reports produce a short list. These are the items that recur most often.

• Roof repair, or replacement where the covering is near the end of its life.
• Pool, spa or pond fencing, gates, latches or a compliant cover.
• Handrails and guardrails on stairs, decks and elevated walkways.
• Electrical corrections: a panel of a known problematic type, exposed wiring, or missing covers.
• Install or upgrade an automatic water shutoff device.
• Restore or begin central station monitoring on an existing alarm.
• Trim trees and limbs overhanging the roof.
• Chimney cleaning, cap or flashing repair, or clearance correction around a wood stove.
• Clear stored material from against the building, under decks and inside the garage.
• Correct drainage or grading that directs water toward the foundation.
• Wildfire items: vent screening, clearance in the first zone, under-deck clearing.
• Update the schedules where art, jewelry or collections turned up that are not on the policy.

Recommendations usually come in tiers. Some are conditions of coverage with a firm date on them, some are requests, and some are just advice. Work out which one each item is before you decide what to do first. If the letter doesn't say, ask.

Response deadlines, and how to answer

Carriers set their own response windows and they vary widely, often from thirty days for a safety item to a full policy term for a larger repair. The letter normally states the deadline. The usual mistake isn't failing the work, it's letting the date go by.

Answer in the order they were written, item by item, so the reviewer can check them off. For each one: what was done, the date, who did it, and a photograph. Attach the invoice with the contractor's license number on it. Where a permit was involved, include the final inspection record.

If an item can't get done in the window, say so in writing before the deadline, with the contractor's name and the scheduled date. A delay somebody knows about is usually fine. A silent one turns into a problem.

If you disagree with a finding, say so, with evidence. Inspectors work fast and get things wrong. A roof dated by how it looks rather than by the invoice, a panel misidentified, a fence marked missing because nobody walked the far side of the property. A polite correction with paperwork attached is normal, and it usually lands.

What happens if recommendations are not completed

Nothing falls on you all at once. It runs on a scale.

• A follow-up request, which is where most unanswered lists start.
• A change in terms at renewal, such as a higher deductible on the related peril, a limitation, or a rating change.
• A non-renewal at the end of the term, which at least comes with a date on it rather than arriving as a surprise, and is worked through on the non-renewal page.
• A mid-term cancellation, which is much less common and is fenced in by state law. Oregon limits mid-term cancellation of a homeowners policy to a short statutory list of grounds under ORS 746.687. This is information about the law, not advice about your policy.
• Difficulty at claim time where the loss comes out of the exact condition somebody flagged and nobody fixed. How that goes depends on the form and the facts, and nobody can tell you in advance how one claim would land.

None of that is a reason to panic about a recommendation letter. It's a reason to answer one.

How to prepare

An hour of preparation makes the visit shorter and the report more accurate. Both of those are in your interest.

• Make sure the inspector can get to the electrical panel, the water heater, the furnace, the attic access and the crawlspace.
• Unlock gates and outbuildings, and secure dogs.
• Gather documentation: roof installation date and invoice, electrical and plumbing update dates, alarm monitoring certificate, water shutoff device details, any renovation permits, and appraisals for scheduled items.
• Clear stored material from under decks and from against the exterior walls.
• Check smoke detectors and handrails, and walk the pool barrier yourself. Those three come back over and over.
• Know your own dates. "The roof is about ten years old" doesn't carry the weight a date on an invoice does.
• Be there if you can, or send somebody who knows the house. A photograph with nobody to explain it becomes a recommendation more often than one with an explanation attached.
• Answer questions plainly. A guess that turns out wrong is worse than saying you'll go check.

After the report

Two things come back, and both deserve attention. The recommendations, which have a deadline on them, and the reconstruction estimate, which sets the limit.

Read the estimate against what you were carrying. If it came back a good deal higher, the house was probably underinsured, and the correction is worth having even though the premium moves with it. If it came back low on a genuinely custom house, ask how it was produced. An estimator run without the detail the visit captured is the exact problem the visit was supposed to fix. Then check the settlement basis against the new limit. Extended replacement cost pays a stated percentage above it. Guaranteed replacement cost goes further, and it's rarer and more conditional than most people assume. You find out which one you have after a total loss, which is late.

We'll read the report and the estimate with you, help you answer the recommendations in the order they were written, and tell you whether what you end up with still fits the household. Start with a coverage review, or the private client hub for the wider picture. State detail sits on the Oregon, Washington and Idaho pages.

Reviewed for insurance accuracy by Richard Sweet, owner of Vantage Point Risk and an independent insurance advisor. Last reviewed September 26, 2026. How we review this.